Friday Sips

Having now known and been offering, buying and consuming Olim Bauda's Barbera wines for 5 years now, it is now quite a thrill to see brothers Dino & Gianni Bertolino receiving adulation for their wines both from wine-lovers and the pundits. Rocchette is from the eponymous-named vineyard in Isole d'Asti whose vines were planted in 1950 and instantaneously one can discover that this wine steps it up a level or six from most 20 buck Barbera D'Asti wines!!

Vinous driving nose of hearty Italian plum, mineral, gentle kisses of smoky oak and underlying cherry pit character. Big-boned with its fruit and velvety texture yet full of elegance and suaveness. A luminous presence of vividness follows through to a drawn-out lavish finish that displays hints of milk chocolate, coffee and plenty of fullness while maintaining poise and freshness. Very lingering, this wine is a steal for 20 bucks!!!

We constantly hear from our different salesfolk, "tell me a 'insert wine here' that is better than this one is for this price." Truthfully, if we hear this one more time, we might have to resume the beatings. If there is one wine that ever fits this statement, it is the Olim Bauda's La Villa Barbera. A perennial Best Buy, it consistently exceeds expectations.

The Barbera D'Asti La Villa is the soulful driving force of the estate, the every evening, share with friends red. Aged entirely in stainless steel it is resoundingly fresh with smoky-earthy tones wrapped around vibrant but layered strawberry and cranberry characteristics. Mouthwatering and terrific with salumi, pasta, grilled fish or veggies.

We love it when old-school grapes that seemingly disappear from our wine vocabularies pop back up and are done in such alluring fashion. Grignolino is a grape whose roots trace back to the Asti and Monferrato areas of Piedmont and is one that makes light reds that have lots of burst, earth and energy.

Breezy, stony, sanguine, spicy-earthy tones with subtle saline aspects. Bright, succulent, wiry, this cool wine possesses no shortage of personality or accentuation. Very dry, it can also be served with a slight chill. A nice wine for a picnic as well as being a red wine for fish.

A few weeks back, I got to enjoy this wine with a piping hot bowl of mussels in broth with spinach and a heap of garlic and the first words out of my mouth were, "what the hell's not to like about this white!!" Along with being a Barbera specialist, Olim Bauda makes a devastatingly delicious, mouth-watering Gavi that absolutely lifts the palate.

100% of the Cortese grape grown in chalky soils with an underlay of clay, this low alcohol white reveals powdery citrus and blitzing mineral. Zippy, flavorful and a wine that coats and cleanses the entire palate. Open-knit and perfect for an aperitivo but even better with shellfish and green vegetables, alone or together.